Unexpected Support
by Brockster550
Summary: An AU first year story where Harry receives comfort (and a genuine friendship) from Fay Dunbar. Takes place in the afternoon before Harry's first ever quidditch match. What will happen between the newly acquired friendship? Read on to find out. Rated T. 'On hold indefinitely.'
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter, this fanfic is all I own. No copyright intended!_

 **Author's note 1: A Harry/Fay pairing story, Neville/Hermione secondary pairing. This story will take place in the afternoon before Harry's first ever Quidditch match. Misguided Dumbledore. Ron will be bad for a while and become neutral, but no real bashing. Good Snape. Rated T.**

Unexpected Support

fanfic by Brockster550

 **Chapter One**

It was the afternoon of Friday, November 8th. Classes had ended for the weekend, and eleven-year-old Harry was sitting outside, trying to pass the time before dinner. Harry was nervous because tomorrow was going to be his first ever quidditch match. What made him nervous was the fear of performing really badly, despite his natural flying skills that got him his position as the seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. While he started getting to know Oliver Wood, the keeper and captain of the team, he didn't really get the chance to meet his other teammates, besides Fred and George Weasley, the beaters on the team. Harry met the Weasley twins on the Hogwarts Express the first day of term, just before the train left King's Cross Station, and Harry's very first day at Hogwarts.

Harry tried telling his best friend, Ron Weasley, about his nervousness, but he was too busy playing wizards chess with fellow Gryffindor, Seamus Finnigan. Harry even tried telling his other, and newly formed friend, Hermione Granger, but she was too busy reading and working on her homework. It was on Halloween evening when Harry, and reluctantly, Ron went to help Hermione after a troll found it's way into the school dungeons somehow and began whacking the stalls in the girls bathroom, where Hermione had been, crying her eyes out, due to Ron claiming that she was a nightmare, and claiming that it was no wonder she had no friends. Hermione also lied to Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration teacher, deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, to keep Harry and Ron out of trouble (believing that Harry and Ron were still friends, so she also tried to keep him out of trouble), losing five points as a result, but Harry and Ron's heroic actions in coming to Hermione's rescue got them five points apiece. That also resulted in Harry and Ron befriending Hermione, or so it seemed in Ron's case.

Harry started feeling sick to his stomach, with his nervousness getting a bit worse. Harry also wasn't sure if he could eat any dinner. Harry was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear footsteps approaching him.

"Hello, Harry," said a voice coming from behind him. "Are you alright?"

This made Harry jump as he jolted back to reality. He turned around and saw a brown-haired girl with hazel eyes about his age. She had red trimmings on her robes, which meant that she was a fellow Gryffindor. Harry recognized her somewhat as Fay Dunbar, a Gryffindor in his year.

"Uh, hiiii." said Harry nervously.

"Fay Dunbar!" she said, holding a hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Fay," said Harry as he shook hands with Fay. "Harry Potter!"

Harry knew saying his name was pointless, but he was just being polite. Fay sat down next to Harry, believing that he needed some company.

"How come you're sitting out here, all alone?" asked Fay.

"Just n-n-nervous," Harry admitted. "I'm just afraid to perform very badly at my first ever quidditch match."

"Being nervous is normal, Harry," assured Fay in a soft voice. "But, there's no need to talk badly about yourself like that."

"Being in front of all those people, that's what's making me nervous that I'll screw up!" said Harry.

"I understand," assured Fay. "But, do concentrate on your position as seeker. If you keep thinking about everyone in the stands, you'll just distract yourself."

Harry realized that Fay was right. Though, it was normal for someone to be nervous before their first ever quidditch match, Harry knew that Fay had a good point. As long as he concentrated on keeping an eye out for the golden snitch, he would be fine. Harry felt himself relaxing as Fay's words kept sinking in.

"Thank you for your advice, Fay," said Harry gratefully. "I needed that!"

"You're welcome, Harry," said Fay, smiling at Harry. "If you get nervous again, you can talk to me!"

"Really? You'd be willing to talk to me?" asked Harry.

"Of course, Harry," said Fay. "I'd rather be friends with you for who you are, not for you as the Boy-Who-Lived!"

Fay grabbed a hold of Harry's hand in a comforting manner and smiled at him again, letting Harry know that she meant what she said. Harry was relieved, as it seemed like most people just wouldn't look past the legend (as well as that scar) and actually try to get to know Harry as a person. Harry and Fay talked to each other, so they could get to know each other better. She told Harry that she was a quidditch fan, but she wasn't a fanatic about it, unlike a certain red-haired Gryffindor named Ronald Weasley. Harry and Fay talked for what seemed like years, but it was only around two-and-a-half hours, and this told them that dinner would be ready in about half an hour.

"I didn't realize that we'd been talking longer than expected!" said Harry.

"Me, neither," said Fay. "But, it was worth it!"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Perhaps we should start heading to the Great Hall."

"We might as well," said Fay. "You can sit by me if you want!"

Harry accepted the offer, so the two Gryffindor first year students began walking to the Great Hall. Harry's hunger started coming back, remembering Fay's words to focus on finding the golden snitch, not the crowd. Soon, they arrived in the Great Hall just as the majority of the students started filing in. Harry also came to the conclusion that having fun playing quidditch was more important than desperately trying to get the higher score than the other team, but it was still a good idea to try anyway. Harry and Fay found seats at the end of Gryffindor's table closest to the double doors. Not long after sitting down, they were joined by Neville and Hermione. Ron, however joined Seamus and a girl with curly light-brown hair (who Harry, Fay, Neville and Hermione recognized as Lavender Brown) near the middle of their house table. Ron didn't seem to care that Harry didn't join him, but Harry didn't really care anymore because of the redhead ignoring him and playing chess instead of helping his best friend with his nervousness.

"Ronald is such an insensitive clod!" said Hermione irritably as she sent a glare in Ron's direction. "He never apologized to me for the rude remark of labeling me as a nightmare without any friends!"

"It's not your fault, Hermione," assured Harry. "Ron is just a jealous prat! I don't know why I even befriended him in the first place. At least his brothers have better manners than he does."

"Yeah, that's true," said Neville in a matter-of-fact voice. "Even with Fred and George's pranking nature, they still have decent manners."

"Pretty much." agreed Fay. Then she turned her attention to Hermione. "That Ronald just wouldn't admit that you were trying to help him how to do the levitation charm properly."

"He sure show his appreciation for it!" said Hermione sarcastically. Then she continued on in a normal voice. "He still didn't need to call me a nightmare, and certainly didn't need to assume that nobody needed me as a friend."

"Don't listen to Ron, Hermione," said Neville. "He's just a dunderhead. If he's gonna blame you for anything that goes wrong, that's his problem."

Hermione nodded her head to show that she understood. Harry, Neville, Fay and Hermione continued getting to know one another better as they ate dinner. Up at the staff table, Professor McGonagall was observing them and she had a perplexed look on her face.

'I thought Miss Granger also bonded with Mr. Weasley!' thought the head of Gryffindor House in surprise. 'And Mr. Potter isn't even sitting by him! I wonder what else must've happened! But Mr. Potter and Miss Granger sure seem to be making friends with Mr. Longbottom and Miss Dunbar. I'll ask them to report to my office when dinner is over.'

Ron continued ignoring Harry and Hermione and instead, was befriending Seamus and Lavender. Professor Dumbledore was stunned to see that Harry and Ron have ended their so called friendship. The headmaster thought that Harry and Ron would've been the best of friends, but now it all seemed to be all ironic. Professor Snape also saw that Harry and Ron weren't anywhere near each and he, too was surprised. The rest of dinner passed by uneventfully. Just as Harry, Neville, Fay and Hermione left the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall stopped them in the corridors.

"May I speak with you four?" Professor McGonagall asked the quartet.

"Yes, professor!" chorused Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay simultaneously.

So the four Gryffindors followed their head of house to the transfiguration classroom. Once they were in McGonagall's office, the deputy headmistress locked the door and cast some kind of other spell on it. Harry, Neville, Fay and Hermione sat down on chairs in front of their head of house's desk. Then Professor McGonagall sat down on the chair behind her desk.

"Did we do something wrong, professor?" asked Harry after a minute.

"No, not all, Mr. Potter," assured his head of house. "I just want to find out why you and Miss Granger decided to sit by Mr. Longbottom and Miss Dunbar at dinner."

"Well, Fay offered to let me sit by her," stated Harry. "She was giving me some comfort and advice because of my nerves acting up due to my first ever quidditch match approaching. Not long after Fay and I sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Neville joined us while Ron joined Seamus and Lavender."

"But I thought you, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger became friends!" said Professor McGonagall in shock.

"Well, it turns out that Ron wasn't the kind of person I'd like to be friends with." stated Harry.

"I was only trying to help Ron with how to do the levitation charm properly in charms class," said Hermione. "But he just rudely told me to do it if I was so clever. So I properly demonstrated it for him, but he got jealous and never bothered to give me a thank you for the help."

"Yeah, he also called Hermione a nightmare and rudely claimed that it was no wonder she didn't have any friends." Neville spoke up. "It was a second after that when Hermione hurriedly passed by, where I caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes."

"I saw them, too," stated Harry. "And yet, Ron didn't care that he made Hermione cry."

"Miss Granger, was that why you weren't seen during the afternoon lessons before the Halloween feast?" asked the deputy headmistress, realizing the real reasons why.

"Yes, professor," Hermione admitted in a nervous tone. "I spent that time in the girls' bathroom crying because I couldn't get that thought out of my mind."

"Then why did you lie about the troll incident being your fault?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I thought Harry and Ron were still friends," stated Hermione. "I thought I was trying to diffuse the situation if I took the blame for both of them. But Ron never gave me a thank you for that, unlike Harry. Ron never even apologized for his rude remarks either."

"While I willingly came to Hermione's rescue," said Harry. "I did force Ron to tag along, but he was reluctant to do so. He never provided comfort to me for my nervousness in preparing for my first ever quidditch match because he was more concerned about playing chess with Seamus."

"I did help Harry out with his problem, professor," stated Fay. "He was really grateful to me for that."

"I see." said Professor McGonagall. Then she turned her attention to Hermione. "Miss Granger, while I won't condone you for skipping class, I do understand why you did. I'll have to give you a detention for doing so, but you'll just be required to do your homework and catch up on the missed assignments."

"Neville and I helped Hermione with that, professor," assured Harry. "We'd let her borrow our notes from the classes she missed. In fact, we even began studying and finishing up our assignments in the library every chance we got."

"Ten points each for helping one another in need." said Professor McGonagall. "It looks like Mr. Ronald Weasley needs a serious scolding for his behaviour and attitude. You four are dismissed and when you make it back to Gryffindor Tower, please inform Mr. Weasley that I wish to speak with him after breakfast tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." chorused Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay.

So the quartet left their head of house's office and started making a beeline for Gryffindor Tower. Along the way, the four Gryffindors started discussing how proud of themselves they were for sticking up for one another. Fay ended up becoming accepted, since she did help Harry in relaxing and advising him not to concentrate on the crowd during his first ever quidditch match tomorrow. Upon walking into the common room a couple minutes later, the quartet spotted Ron and Seamus playing chess once again.

"Ron, Professor McGonagall insists that you speak with her after breakfast tomorrow." said Harry.

"Yeah, whatever," Ron rudely remarked without even looking Harry in the eye. "You're breaking my concentration you prat, now beat it!"

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation, as did Neville, Hermione and Fay. They decided not to press the issue, since Ron was going to have to speak with their head of house either way. Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George (and their best friend, Lee Jordan) heard that and grinned at the thought of Ron getting himself in bigger trouble for ignoring what Harry told him. Percy, however was a bit more suspicious and decided that if Ron wasn't going to take responsibility, then he would go to McGonagall in the morning and explain Ron's lack of a good work ethic.

'Mum and dad will also need to know if McGonagall tells me what I think of Ron's behaviour,' thought Percy. 'Certainly they raised Ron better than that! To insult Hermione like that and not appearing to be disturbed by his words and not apologizing? It's time for Ron to suffer the consequences of his actions.'

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note 2: Harry/Fay pairing stories seem to be one of the rarest pairings of all, even rarer than Harry/Astoria or Harry/Gabrielle pairings. There were only two other Harry/Fay pairing stories I found.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: As mentioned for the umpteenth time, I just own the fanfic. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!_

 **Author's note: This story was initially meant to be a one-shot only. I decided to expand this story into a multi-chaptered one due to unexpected popularity, despite Harry/Fay pairing stories being extremely rare. Hope you enjoy this!**

 **Chapter Two**

The next morning, everybody headed for the Great Hall for breakfast. Today was the day of the first quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay sat at the end closest to the double door while Ron joined Seamus and Lavender near the middle of the table like yesterday. When Professor McGonagall walked in through the door behind the staff table, she spotted Ron and began walking up to him, to inform him that he was supposed to stop by her office after breakfast. Ron nodded his head reluctantly and went back to his breakfast while Professor McGonagall returned to the staff table. Harry felt his stomach twist in nervousness as his first ever quidditch game drew closer and closer.

"Remember, Harry," Fay whispered into his ear soothingly. "Concentrate on the snitch, not the crowd."

"Thank you, Fay!" Harry whispered back gratefully.

"Do eat some of your breakfast," Neville advised. "You'll need plenty of energy."

"Neville's right, Harry," stated Hermione. "If you don't eat some, you'll regret it during the game."

Harry nodded his head to show that he understood, so he began eating more of his breakfast. Once breakfast time was over, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay returned to Gryffindor Tower to pass the time before the first quidditch game of the season. Despite wanting to slip by undetected, Ron realized that his head of house meant business when she approached him and instructed him to follow her to her classroom. Once they were inside the transfiguration classroom, Professor McGonagall locked the door and sat down on her seat behind her desk while Ron took a seat in front of the desk. Ron was stunned to see his head of house giving him a stern look.

"Wh-What can I do for you, professor?" asked Ron, trying to conceal his nervousness.

"An explanation regarding your behaviour, Mr. Weasley!" said Professor McGonagall sternly. "It has come to my attention that you were being rude to Miss Granger when she tried helping you out in your charms lesson the other day. Then you insulted her after class by calling her a nightmare with no friends."

"Well, she was being an insuffer…" Ron tried defending his actions.

"Mr. Weasley, your irrational behaviour won't be tolerated!" said Professor McGonagall irritably. "Now, as part of your punishment, you'll be forbidden to watch the quidditch game and you'll have to sit in here during that time. I also think a weeks worth of detention in the form of finishing up your assignments will do wonders. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron nodded his head stiffly, then his head of house got up and left. Meanwhile, Harry began heading to the locker rooms at the quidditch stadium to get changed into his quidditch uniform. Once that was done, he grabbed his Nimbus 2000 and waited for his other teammates to finish changing into their uniforms. Then the Gryffindor captain and keeper, Oliver Wood (a burly, brown haired fifth year) got Harry and their other teammates into the meeting room for a pep talk. Once that was taken care of, they all lined up and started walking toward the door where they'd fly into the stadium. Harry and Oliver were in front, the Weasley twins (who were the beaters) in the middle and the chasers Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell bringing up the rear. Angelina had dark skin and dark hair, Alicia had blonde hair while Katie's hair was brown.

"You scared, Harry?" asked Oliver as the team waited for the door to open.

"A little bit." Harry admitted.

"That's alright, I felt the same way before my first game." stated Oliver. "I took a bludger to the head only two minutes into the game. It was like a week later before I woke up in the hospital wing."

A minute or so later, the door opened up. Then Harry and his teammates mounted their broomsticks and flew out into the stadium. At the same time, the players on the Slytherin team followed their lead and flew out.

" **Hello, welcome to the first Hogwarts quidditch game of the season! In today's game, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor!"** Lee Jordan, the commentator (and the Weasley twins' best friend) spoke into the loud speakers.

Cheering was heard throughout the four student spectator sections. Most of the students were cheering for the Gryffindor team. After a little bit of the introductory flying, all of the players stopped around the middle of the field, facing inward.

" **The players take their positions as Madam Hooch steps out onto the field to get the game started!"** Lee's magnified voice announced.

"Now, I want a nice clean game, from _all_ of you!" said Madam Hooch seriously.

Harry could tell that Madam Hooch was talking particularly to the Slytherin team, especially their captain, Marcus Flint. He was a brutal looking sixth year with troll-like teeth and brown hair.

"Now, captains, fly down and shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.

Oliver and Flint did that, but while they were shaking hands, they appeared to be in a battle of trying to break each others' fingers. Once the captains finished shaking hands and flew back into the air to rejoin their respective team members, Madam Hooch released the bludgers and the golden snitch. Then she picked up the quaffle and tossed it into the air, thus signalling the beginning of the game. Angelina was the first one to grab the quaffle, where she and her fellow chasers took turns tossing it to one another, and making sure that none of the Slytherin chasers got a hold of it. Up in the Gryffindor spectator stands, Neville, Hermione and Fay were cheering Gryffindor on. Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper joined them in cheering (especially for Harry). Angelina managed to throw the quaffle through the hoop, allowing Gryffindor to take the lead, ten to nothing. The Slytherin keeper tossed the quaffle to Flint, who then caught it. When Alicia tried to knock the quaffle out of his grasp, Flint just kicked her broom and made her spin around. This resulted in Madam Hooch blowing the whistle.

"FLINT, YOU DON'T KICK YOUR OPPONENTS' BROOMS!" shouted Madam Hooch.

She awarded a penalty shot to Gryffindor. Alicia tossed the quaffle into the hoop, helping Gryffindor score another ten points, 20-0. As the match progressed, Gryffindor scored twice more before Slytherin finally managed to score, 40-10. Harry finally spotted the snitch and immediately took off after it. Then Flint kicked Harry to throw him off track, resulting in many boos and hisses as Harry spun around uncontrollably. Madam Hooch, of course spotted that and awarded a penalty shot to Gryffindor, with Katie scoring the goal, the score now at 50-10. Harry spotted the snitch and again took off after it, but this time his broom started acting and weird. It was trying to throw him off and leave him plummeting to the ground, even though Harry was trying his best to stay on. While Harry's teammates were distracted and keeping watch to be ready and catch him in the event that he _does_ fall off or lose his grip and slip, Flint and another unidentified Slytherin chaser took advantage of the situation and scored six goals, with Slytherin now in the lead, 70-50.

"What's going on with Harry's broomstick?" asked Hagrid, confused as he watched through a pair of binoculars.

Neville couldn't look and closed his eyes and covered them with his mitten-covered hands. Fay had a worried look on her face, as did Hermione (who was also watching Harry's broom acting up through a pair of binoculars). Then she spotted something suspicious, it was Professor Snape and he was muttering something repeatedly without even blinking while facing Harry.

"Fay, I know what's going on," said Hermione. "Snape's jinxing the broom."

"What?" said Fay, baffled.

Hermione handed her pair of binoculars to Fay, who grabbed ahold of them and looked through. She saw the same thing Hermione did, Snape was still muttering something without blinking while continuing to face Harry. Fay widened her eyes in shock to witness a teacher trying to make Harry's broom trying to buck him off.

"What do we do, Hermione?" asked Fay worriedly.

"I'll take care of Snape," said Hermione. "Keep an eye on Harry."

Fay nodded her head dutifully, so she kept an eye on Harry through the binoculars while Hermione left to deal with Snape. Most of the Slytherins in the stand were watching Harry while laughing and pointing at him (Draco especially). However, two Slytherin girls were acting neutral, but they were secretly hoping Harry wouldn't fall off his broom. Neville still couldn't watch Harry in the predicament he was in, so Neville kept his eyes shut. Hagrid was also keeping watch over Harry through his pair of binoculars. While Harry continued keeping his grip on the broom, the Slytherin seeker, Terence Higgs flew by and started taking off after the snitch.

"Come on, Hermione!" Fay muttered under breath desperately, as she continued watching Harry. "Harry could lose his grip at any moment!"

Meanwhile, Hermione was jogging up the stairs to where the teachers were sitting. She began scanning the feet of the other teachers until she spotted the unmistakable black cloak that belonged to her potions teacher. Then Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it to part of Snape's cloak.

"Lacarnum Inflamari!" Hermione chanted in a whisper.

A fireball shot out of Hermione's wand and hit the cloak, igniting it. Then Hermione left her spot and started jogging back down the stairs and back over to where the Gryffindors were. Snape had no idea that his cloak was on fire until one of the other teachers pointed it out to him. The head of Slytherin stopped muttering under his breath, looked at the fire on his cloak, hastily got up (knocking Professor Quirrell and one unidentified teacher backwards) and began trying to desperately put the fire out. At that moment, the broom stopped trying to buck Harry off, much to his relief. As Snape managed to get the fire extinguished, Harry started swinging on his broom in an attempt to get back on it. After a few tries, he finally managed it, relieving the teachers and most of the student body (Harry's teammates especially). Harry spotted Terence and began flying towards him, since the Slytherin seeker was still in pursuit of the snitch.

"Okay, Neville, you can look now!" said Fay cheerfully.

Neville finally opened his eyes and saw Harry safely back on his broom. Hermione rejoined them a few minutes later and they started cheering Harry on, with Hagrid even following their lead. As Harry continued flying towards the snitch, he saw a bludger whizz right by Terence, thus throwing him off course and allowing Harry to pursue the snitch. It started flying toward the ground and Harry pulled off the same dive that his head of house had seen during the flying lessons for the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Once Harry's Nimbus 2000 was hovering just inches above the ground, he got up onto his feet and tried to grab the snitch. It was still out of reach, so Harry moved his front foot closer towards the handle. In doing so, Harry lost his balance and fell forward, then he rolled around several times before getting back onto his feet. Then Harry felt a sudden urge to throw up and he put his hands on his stomach as he tried doing so, but he didn't vomit. This caused gasps throughout the stadium. Neville, Hermione, Fay and Hagrid especially had concerned looks on their faces.

"It looks like Harry might be getting sick." stated Hagrid.

At that moment, Harry felt something pop out of his mouth and drop into his hands. He saw that it was the golden snitch and he almost swallowed it by accident. Then he grasped the snitch in one hand and held it up.

" **He's caught the snitch! Harry Potter receives an extra 150 points for catching the snitch! Final score, Gryffindor with 200 points and Slytherin with 70!"** Lee's magnified voice announced.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" shouted Madam Hooch.

"He didn't really catch the snitch!" Flint protested to the referee. "That doesn't count, it doesn't count!"

"Nonsense, Flint! Gryffindor won fair and square!" stated Madam Hooch.

There were many cheers throughout the stadium while most of the Slytherins looked as though they wanted to throw a tantrum. Draco stamped with one of his feet in anger. Harry's teammates surrounded him and gave him pats on the shoulders while the chasers hugged him. In the moment of celebrating, Harry didn't flinch with physical contact (since he was so caught up in the moment). Even Neville, Hermione and Fay came down to join in. Neville patted Harry's shoulders while Hermione and Fay engulfed Harry in hugs at once, with Harry jokingly commenting that he felt being put into a sandwich.

"You should've heard Flint, Harry," said Oliver. "He was complaining about you nearly swallowing the snitch and that it shouldn't have counted."

"The troll of the Slytherin captain was being a hypocrite!" Fred and George chorused.

"Since he was trying to cheat." said Angelina in agreement. "But he never pays attention to the fact that real winners don't cheat."

Everybody else agreed with that, then the Gryffindor team headed off to the locker rooms. Neville, Hermione and Fay stood outside the entrance to wait for Harry. After Harry stepped out of the locker room, he, Neville, Hermione and Fay started walking back to Gryffindor Tower together, with Harry's teammates following the quartet.

"I think this calls for a party tonight, what do you think, Gred?" Fred asked his twin.

"I believe we should get a party set up, Forge!" stated George in agreement.

"How will you two sneak food and drinks into the common room?" Harry asked the twins.

"There's a portrait near the basement floor levels," stated the twins in unison. "It leads to the school kitchens. The portrait has a bowl of fruit on it, where one must tickle the pear. It will giggle and turn into a large green door handle and allow you access. It's not too far from the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room."

"As long as you don't get caught." said Hermione.

"We have ways of avoiding detection, Hermione," assured the twins in unison. "We'll be fine and we'll manage to get some nice food and drinks!"

So they all continued on over to Gryffindor Tower. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall was heading back to her classroom to check on Ron. However, his brother, Percy crossed paths with her on the way. They almost bumped into each other by accident, in which Percy had to readjust his horn-rimmed glasses.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, what can I do for you?" Professor McGonagall greeted.

"I'd like a copy of Ron's grades so far, please," said Percy. "I've witnessed several times where he tried to get Hermione to do his work for him, no matter how many times she refused. Anytime she did, Ron would go play chess with Seamus. I want to get them sent to mum and dad to see what they have to say."

"Yes, I'll make a copy of them and get them to you as soon as possible, Mr. Weasley," assured Professor McGonagall. "I do not like how Ronald thinks that he can have such a terrible work ethic. Thank you for also informing me of that. Ten points to Gryffindor."

"Thank you, professor." said Percy gratefully.

As he started returning to Gryffindor Tower, Percy could anticipate that his mother was bound to be furious. But Ron needed to realize that he can't rely on anyone else to do his work for him and needed to put in some real effort. Ron was going to be in for one heck of a snap back to reality.

 _To be continued!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: As I mentioned for the umpteenth time, I just own this fanfic. The rest of the Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, no copyright intended!_

 **Chapter Three**

Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay went to work on their homework in an attempt to pass the time before the party to celebrate their quidditch team's victory. Ron and Seamus went to play wizard's chess as usual, with Lavender watching it as if it was the best thing she'd ever seen. Ten to fifteen minutes later, Professor McGonagall arrived and handed Percy (who was sitting on a chair close to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower) a copy of Ron's grades and left. Then Percy walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and over to where the prefects' bedrooms were. Once he was in his bedroom, Percy closed the door and tied Ron's grades to his screech owl, Hermes' leg.

"Hermes, do get these to mum and dad," Percy instructed his owl. "It's urgent that they get Ron's grades! He needs to understand that he can't have other people do his work for him, since otherwise he won't make it out there in the real world."

Hermes hooted in understanding and flew out the window and on it's way to the Burrow. Then Percy left his bedroom and back down to the common room. He widened his eyes in shock when he encountered Ron, Seamus and Lavender trying to harass Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay. That made Percy realize that he was right in trusting his intuition.

"Come on, Granger," said Ron adamantly. "Now's not the time to be a slacker, now start working on my homework for me!"

"You can't make me do your work for you, Ronald!" said Hermione defiantly. "You need to do it yourself, now leave us be!"

"Now now, Granger," sneered Seamus. "You don't wanna make this worse, now do you?!"

"Come on, Harry," Lavender tried coaxing. "I'll be your girlfriend if you do my homework for me."

"Don't try sucking up to me," snapped Harry. "I've already dealt with that just recently and I don't need another incident like that!"

"Shame on you three for your lack of effort," said Fay sternly to Ron, Seamus and Lavender. "Do your own work!"

"We were having our nice, quiet homework session," said Neville, agreeing with Fay. "Now leave the four of us alone or we'll make sure you're sorry to ever pester us."

Ron, Seamus and Lavender got up and started walking to the first year boys dormitory, only to run into Percy (who had a stern look on his face). The three lazy Gryffindors were oblivious to Percy's stern demeanour.

"Whaddya want?" Ron rudely demanded.

"Yeah, what's your reason for blocking our way?!" Seamus and Lavender demanded in unison, equally rude.

"That's five points each from you three!" snapped Percy, causing the other Gryffindors in the common room to look at Ron, Seamus and Lavender in anger. "You need to be respectful to a prefect, that kind of behaviour won't be tolerated!"

"Whatever!" sneered Ron, Seamus and Lavender simultaneously.

"Okay, another five points each!" said Percy irritably. "I'll also be speaking to Professor McGonagall about this and maybe recommend that she give you three a detention."

So Percy left the common room and over to his head of house's office. Ron, Seamus and Lavender, however were acting all overconfident and assuming that Percy was bluffing. The other Gryffindors (including Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay) just glared at the three Gryffindors who lost them a total of thirty points. Percy reached Professor McGonagall's office and informed her of what Ron, Seamus and Lavender tried doing to Harry and his friends. The deputy headmistress wasn't too happy and decided those three Gryffindors needed a stern talking to after lunch. Pretty soon, everybody started heading for the Great Hall for lunch. Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay sat at the end near the double doors as usual.

"Harry, we happened to find out why your broom was trying to buck you off," said Fay. "Though, Hermione was the first to find out."

"What was making my broom act the way it did?" asked Harry.

"While looking through my pair of binoculars," Hermione started explaining. "I happened to see Professor Snape muttering something while looking at you, and he wasn't blinking at all!"

"I even looked through binoculars myself and saw it." stated Fay. "I couldn't believe what our potions teacher was trying to do!"

"Well, he hates me for some unknown reason," said Harry. "I hadn't even done anything to make him hate me. It's like he judges people before getting to know them."

"Snape even treats me as bad as Harry," said Neville. "He always blames a non-Slytherin student whenever Malfoy and his lackeys do something like sabotage someone else's potion."

"Well, he hardly treats me any better," said Hermione. "He always ignores my hand anytime he asks a question regarding the day's lesson. Anytime I answer questions, he just docks points from me for 'being an insufferable know-it-all.' Talk about abusing one's power."

"Maybe we can just sit near the back and away from Malfoy and his kind," suggested Fay. "So he can't try sabotaging us and getting us in trouble."

"Great idea, Fay," Harry complimented. "That'll be a sure way to teach him a lesson in an indirect way!"

Neville and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement while Fay blushed at Harry's compliment. Ron, Seamus and Lavender found seats close by the quartet and began discussing something that was supposedly secret. Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay turned their attention to the discussion and listened eagerly. Whether Ron, Seamus and/or Lavender noticed the quartet eavesdropping or not, they didn't show it (though they may have been deliberately ignoring them).

"You know about that three-headed dog I was telling you about," said Ron. "It's guarding something so valuable, that's why it's on the third floor corridor."

"What is it supposed to be guarding?" asked Seamus and Lavender.

"Something called the Philosopher's Stone," stated Ron. "But I have no idea what it's purpose is!"

"Gosh," Seamus replied. "It must be super valuable and rare for it to be guarded on that floor. How did you find out about that dog?"

"Well, it started when Malfoy 'called up' a midnight duel," stated Ron. But then he started bluffing and exaggerating it from that point on. "But Potter foolishly accepted it while I tried to warn him not to do so since Malfoy was bound to not even show up. Granger and Longbottom even tagged along despite my warnings, but they ignored me." This resulted in Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay widening their eyes in utter shock.

"Wow," said Seamus. "I had no idea that three Gryffindors could be so stupid to listen to a Slytherin snake and not heed your warning."

"I'm surprised that none of you four got expelled." said Lavender.

"Well, I've showed Potter, Granger and Longbottom a number of shortcuts to avoid that," Rom continued his false claims. "But now I regret that, I should've had them face expulsion from Hogwarts or have them go down the trapdoor that three-headed dog was guarding."

Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay couldn't believe what they heard escaping Ron's mouth. To hear that Ron wished to push them down the trapdoor Hermione spotted under the dog's feet, that was unforgivable. Fred and George may be pranksters, but at least they never said anything similar to what Ron said. The twins had a conscience while Ron seemed to be lacking one. Hermione came to the conclusion that this Philosopher's Stone must be hidden under the trap door that the three headed dog was guarding.

"Wow, how brave of you, Ronald!" said Lavender in an admiring voice. "And trying to show off your leadership skills not doing you any good? Well, it just goes to prove that Potter, Granger and Longbottom are selfish prats!"

Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay were outraged that Ron would have the nerve to say all that. The jealous redhead certainly had zero leadership skills because he always wanted his work completed by other people. Neville knew that he was coming back from the hospital wing when he ran into Harry, Ron and Hermione on their way to the trophy room. Hermione knew that she was the one who warned Harry and Ron, but Ron was being the obnoxious git he was still acting like while Harry simply wanted to prove to Malfoy that he wasn't a coward (something Harry himself knew). Harry secretly decided to give Fred, George and Lee the word about what Ron had done, so they could prank him to the moon and back. Ron, Seamus and Lavender certainly didn't deserve to join in on the celebrations over their team's victory against Slytherin. Soon, lunch was over and everybody began leaving the Great Hall to do what they planned to do for the rest of the day. Ron, Seamus and Lavender spotted their head of house approaching them with confused looks on their faces.

"You three better follow me!" Professor McGonagall insisted.

Ron, Seamus and Lavender reluctantly obeyed and followed the deputy headmistress. Once they made it to the transfiguration classroom, Professor McGonagall ordered the three Gryffindors to sit down in front of her desk. The obnoxious Gryffindor trio did as they were told just as Professor McGonagall sat down on the chair behind her desk. She eyed the three Gryffindors angrily.

"What can we do for you, professor?" asked Ron.

"An explanation on why you three think that Mr. Potter and his friends would be willing to do your homework for you!" said Professor McGonagall irritably.

"That explains how you found out," said Ron. "Potter tattled on us."

"That wasn't tattling, Mr. Weasley!" snapped Professor McGonagall. "Cheating your way through school won't get you anywhere, you know!"

"We just politely asked Potter and his friends for help." Seamus fibbed, with Lavender nodding her head to falsely confirm it.

"That isn't what Mr. Percy Weasley said!" said Professor McGonagall, who wasn't fooled by Seamus' claims in the slightest.

"So he was the one who tattled!" said Ron in anger.

"Mr. Weasley, I already told you that it wasn't tattling!" snapped the deputy headmistress. "Your brother asked me for a copy of your grades to send home because he trusted his gut. He even saw you, Mr. Finnigan and Miss Brown trying to compel Mr. Potter and his friends into doing your homework instead of you three working on it yourselves!"

"They could've invited us into their study group." said Seamus.

"But none of you five showed any true interest." said Professor McGonagall. "Now, that'll be fifteen points each from Gryffindor and two weeks worth of detention in the form of finishing your homework. Have I made myself clear?"

Ron, Seamus and Lavender nodded their heads, then they were dismissed from the classroom. The point deduction was bound to make many of their fellow housemates turn against them. Ron's stomach twisted in nervousness when he realized that his mother was bound to send him a howler for his behaviour and lack of a good work ethic. At the same time, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay were walking outside to get some fresh air. They decided to pay Hagrid a visit, so the four started jogging down to Hagrid's hut. Then they approached the front door and Harry knocked. Some barking was heard, which made Neville and Fay jump in surprise, but Harry and Hermione knew that it was Fang barking.

"Oh, hello, you four," Hagrid greeted as soon as he answered the door. "Come on in, I've just made a pot of tea and some rock cakes."

So Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay walked in and sat down in overstuffed chairs nearby. Harry and Hermione took turns petting Fang. It took a few minutes before Neville got comfortable enough to do the same, and same with Fay.

"Is something wrong?" asked Hagrid when he spotted suspicious looks on the first years' faces. "Something seems awfully wrong?"

"It was Ron," stated Harry. "He was telling our fellow Gryffindors, Seamus and Lavender about something called the Philosopher's Stone!"

"What?!" Hagrid exclaimed, almost dropping his tea pot in the process. "How did Ron figure out?"

"Wish we knew," said Hermione. "But seeing that he found out and told his friends, somebody must've tipped him off. I even deduced that it was hidden under the trap door that three headed dog was guarding."

"Who told you about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid, flabbergasted.

"That dog has a name?" asked Neville.

"Of course," stated Hagrid. "I bought him off a greek chappie I met at The Leaky Cauldron a couple months before this school year began. Though, Dumbledore said it was supposed to be top secret. I don't really understand how Ron came to get a hold of that. Speaking of Ron, how come he didn't come down?"

"We're no longer friends with him because he's an inconsiderate jerk." said Harry and Hermione in unison.

"I see." said Hagrid with realization.

"It also seems like Snape is after the stone," Harry guessed. "After the troll incident, I saw that Snape's trousers were torn and bloody, which made me wonder if he tried getting past Fluffy."

"When Harry's broom was jinxed," said Hermione. "I saw through my binoculars Snape muttering something while looking up at Harry without blinking."

"I saw it, too," stated Fay. "It worried me because I thought Snape was just trying to make sure Slytherin would win the match."

"I doubt that Snape would be after the stone," said Hagrid. "But he certainly wouldn't try to kill Harry. Now, I don't want you four trying to poke your noses in places where they don't belong, understand? What the stone is doing under Fluffy's guard is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Nicholas Flamel?" Harry replied.

"I shouldn't have said that." said Hagrid, ashamed.

"Hagrid, I actually read that name somewhere," stated Harry. "But… I can't put my finger on it, but I know I read the name before."

"I don't blame ya for that, Harry." assured Hagrid, then he also turned to face Neville, Hermione and Fay, too. "Just promise me you will stay out of trouble and put the whole Philosopher's Stone business in the back of your minds."

The four Gryffindors nodded their heads to ensure that they would stay out of trouble. They still didn't like the fact that Ron was trying to make it seem that he 'warned' Harry, Hermione and Neville not to be out after curfew. The rest of their visit with Hagrid was spent enjoying tea and cake. All too soon, it was time for Harry, Neville, Hermione and Fay to head back to Gryffindor Tower to get ready for the party celebrating the victory over Slytherin. Harry remembered that he needed to inform Fred, George and Lee to make sure that neither Ron, Seamus nor Lavender were allowed to attend (since they tried to use Harry and his friends to get them to complete their homework for them). Maybe the party will help distract the four Gryffindors from the business regarding the Philosopher's Stone, as long as Ron, Seamus and Lavender stayed away from them.

 _To be continued!_

 **Author's note (posted: 5/15/19): This story has been put on hold indefinitely. I just haven't been having any luck with trying to finish the next chapter. I apologize for any inconvenience.**


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